Madame
Chair,
Distinguished speakers and participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let
me begin by extending my warm greetings to all of you and
by thanking our chair, my colleague Kiyoko Ikegami, who
represents UNFPA in Japan, for her very pertinent introduction
and kind words. I express my deep appreciation to NPO 2050
and its chairman Kit Kitatani for having organized this
high level symposium.
Cairo
was a turning point, the beginning of a new era in the population
field.
It changed the way we think about population programmes,
from demographic targets and control to a rights-based approach
that puts people first. The ground-breaking Programme of
Action recognized that if we are to stabilize the world's
population growth, reduce poverty and promote sustainable
development, we must address straight on the health of children
and their mothers, including their reproductive rights,
and gender equity and equality.
Cairo taught us that only by addressing the needs of the
poorest and most vulnerable groups, by empowering women
and by increasing the involvement of all segments of civil
society in the development process will the countries of
the world be able to achieve a fair balance between demographic
changes, poverty reduction and protection of the environment.
Population and development strategies are therefore inseparable.
Five years after Cairo, in 1999, the principles of the ICPD
Programme were reconfirmed, and a set of key actions were
identified as crucial to further the implementation of the
Cairo agreement. These actions paid special attention to
adolescents and to stopping the spread of the ravaging HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
Ten years later, we can say that significant progress has
been achieved.
As stated by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
"The decade following the adoption of the Programme
of Action has been one of substantial progress. The world
is beginning to see the end of rapid population growth,
couples are closer to achieving their desired family size
and spacing of children, mortality is declining in most
countries, and there is evidence that many countries are
taking the necessary steps to confront HIV/AIDS and other
mortality crises, and Governments are initiating processes
to address concerns related to international migration."
Marking the tenth anniversary of the Cairo Conference, this
year 2004 has witnessed numerous gatherings of policy-makers
and experts around the globe commemorating that watershed
event, reconfirming the unaltered value of its Programme
of Action as an essential contribution towards achieving
the world's development goals, taking stock of the progress
made so far, and assessing the way forward for the next
decade.
The focus of any assessment of the achievements and shortcomings
in the ICPD implementation has to be, first and foremost,
at the national level. The goals of the Programme of Action
belong to the people, to each woman, child and man and it
is every national government's responsibility to make sure
that all of the various dimensions of population issues
are given high priority in the formulation of their social
and economic development policies.
A recently released UNFPA Report entitled "Investing
in People" reviews both progress and constraints in
the operational ICPD implementation. It presents the results
of a Global Survey carried out last year that investigated
efforts under all of the specific actions called for by
the Programme of Action and ICPD+5. The review has shown
that a great number of countries have made remarkable strides
at the policy, operational and programmatic levels. When
provided with family planning, education and other critical
health services, individuals are empowered to do what is
best for themselves and for their families.
Although progress remains uneven across regions and countries,
there is no arguing that, overall, prospects for girls born
today in Africa or Asia are much better than they were ten
years ago. School enrolment rates are increasing, mortality
rates declining and life expectancy is rising.
Regional level reviews have taken place in Asia and the
Pacific, Europe, the Americas and more recently in Africa.
UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Kunio Waki covered these
in his keynote presentation earlier this morning.
In June this year, African Ministers reaffirmed their strong
commitment to redoubling their efforts to promote and strengthen
universal access to quality and comprehensive reproductive
health care information and services, intensify their fight
against HIV/AIDS and empower women. Similar strong reaffirmations
also came out of the regions of the Asia-Pacific and Latin
America and the Caribbean as part of the ten-year review
of Cairo.
While government action is critical in order to fully mainstream
population issues in their poverty eradication strategies
and institutionalize good practices and programmes, civil
society at the community level has an enormous role to play.
There is increasing evidence of public-private partnerships,
non-government organizations and voluntary agencies, succeeding
everyday, even with meagre resources, in expanding public
health services, raising awareness, and improving the lives
of poor and young women.
I would like to cite just one small example. In Mali, in
the small town of Zegoua (with a population of 22,000),
since January 2002, there has not been a single case of
neonatal or maternal mortality. The secret of its success
in reducing neonatal and maternal mortality lies in the
determination of the village's women to tackle pregnancy-related
problems. They have formed groups that plant cotton, rice
and peanuts and a share of the revenues from these crops
is used to pay for consultations to check the health of
mothers and newborns and to discuss family planning issues.
In this way, this small Malian town may already claim to
have achieved one of the MDGs! It has also shown how effective
community level action could be in contributing to the realization
of the MDGs.
According to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, "we will go
a great way in solving the world's population problems by
educating women and making sure they have employment".
Girls, in particular, are the most vulnerable: 62 per cent
of young people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are female.
Misconceptions are still widespread. AIDS has orphaned more
than 14 million children, many of whom become homeless and
live on the street. It is our responsibility to make sure
that these young people obtain the knowledge and learn how
to protect themselves.
Madame Chair,
Sustained and increased investment in sexual and reproductive
health services in developing countries promises tremendous
benefits to women, families and societies at large. While
it is heartening to see that, increasingly, developing countries
are pulling their own resources into the implementation
of such programmes, support from developed countries unfortunately
has fallen short of commitments made in Cairo.
Commitments must be redeemed in order to allow the world
to invest in its most precious resources - women, men and
children - thus ensure a brighter future for our planet.
I thank you.
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